TEHRAN –The 25th international exhibition of medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and laboratory equipment (Iran Health Expo 2024) will be held from May 18-21 at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds.

Iran Health aims to develop health technologies in the country, enhance the global competitiveness of Iranian knowledge-based companies in markets, expand the exports of knowledge-based and technological firms in the health sector, and form domestic and foreign technological consortia in Iran and global markets, IRNA reported.

Sharing experiences of health technology development as well as attracting foreign investment in the field of health are among other important goals of holding this exhibition.

Iran Health aims to showcase the country’s latest products and achievements in the fields of medical engineering; dental, medical, ophthalmic, and orthopedic equipment; pharmaceuticals; home care products; remote therapy; physiotherapy; surgical and medical emergency equipment; sonography and endoscopy; medical applications; electrical equipment; beauty products; and plastic surgery.

Knowledge-based companies manufacturing medications

Some 600 medical equipment companies are active in the country, producing around 99 percent of the medicine supplied to the domestic market. Medical equipment manufacturers in the country produce and supply over 10,000 types of medical equipment to domestic and foreign markets. Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products.

Iranian knowledge-based companies have succeeded in producing recombinant drugs which are mainly used for treating hard-to-treat diseases such as cancers, MS, hemophilia, and viral diseases.

Developing a system based on artificial intelligence (AI) that can detect breast cancer with 94 percent accuracy, manufacturing new medicines for pulmonary hypertension, coagulation disorders, chemotherapy drugs, and production of anti-cancer drugs titled SinaDoxosome, used in all types of abdominal cancer, Levofloxacin, used for the treatment of infectious diseases, Paclitaxel, to treat various lungs, and skin, ovarian and breast cancers, Doxorubicin, human papillomavirus (HPV) and ‘ibrutinib’, which is used to treat various blood cancers, have placed Iran among the main producers of medications in the world.

Medications such as "Cetrorlix Acetate", used for the treatment of infertility, drugs for MS patients (called Synvox), special patients (called Interferon Beta, Gamma, and Alpha), and hepatitis C patients (called pegylated interferon) are other examples of the broad efforts of Iranian researchers.

Medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually, according to Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country.

Over 60 countries import Iranian medical equipment

On January 13, the head of Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters said that medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made, IRNA quoted Abdolreza Yaqoubzadeh as saying.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country, he added.

Yaqoubzadeh went on to say that the country's need for medical equipment production is three to four billion dollars per year, some one billion dollars of which is imported.

Export of medicine and medical equipment rise

Iran experienced a significant rise in exports of medicine and medical equipment in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21, 2023.

“Exports of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment grew by 300 percent in the first four months of the year,” IRNA quoted Mohammadi as saying.

Currently, the production of medicine, medical equipment, and powdered milk is supported by subsidies. So, their exports were very limited, but it is hoped that their exports will increase next year, he explained.

Referring to the shortage of 100 drug items in the country, he said: “Nearly one and a half percent of the country's pharmaceutical need is imported. Along with domestic production, it is done as soon as the domestic production meets the demand.”

A total of 227 knowledge-based firms are supplying medical equipment for health centers across the country, according to the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

MT/MG